How to Start a Book Club

Starting a book club? Just follow our 10 basic steps to good books, good talks, and good eats.

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1. What kind of book club?

First, decide on a club orientation: somewhere between highly social...and seriously academic. If you

make this decision at the outset, you'll know who to invite and what books to read.

2. What kind of books?

Think about the books you enjoy—in terms of genre and level of difficulty. First, consider a mix of

genres.

Fiction—general, current or classic, historical, mystery, sci-fi, western, romance.

Nonfiction—memoir, biography, history, current events, science, travel, cooking.

Others—poetry and drama.

Next, vary your reading by moving between more challenging works...and those on the lighter side.

(See How to Select Your Books.)

3. What about members?

Number—8 to 16 members are best: enough for a discussion if several are absent, but not

too many to make discussions unwieldy.

Word to the wise—look for people with similar reading styles. If you think Dostoevsky is a

light beach read, don't ask someone who thinksMarley and Me is a slog. Even if that person

is a close friend, believe us: It—won't—work.

Invite—start with 3 friends—all devoted readers; ask each of them to invite 1, 2, or 3 others,

also devoted readers. It's not important for everyone to know one another; in fact, it's fun if

you don't. After you meet a couple of times, you can grow the club at your own pace. (Or

not.)

Online—maybe you're new to the area and don't know people. Several of our Featured Book

Clubs have started highly successful groups throughMeetup.com. (Type "meetup.com" into

the LitLovers search bar to get a list of the clubs.)

4. Meeting—how often and when?

The most important thing is to pick a schedule...and stick with it.

How Often—once a month works best for most clubs—although some read longer books and

stretch their meetings out to every 6 weeks. A lot of clubs shut down for the summer.

When—Most clubs meet during the week: mid-morning, lunchtime, dinner, or early evening.

For others weekends work best. Still, all clubs end up working around jobs, childcare, travel,

even difficulty driving at night.

5. Where should we meet?

Homes, clubhouses, public libraries, churches, Y's, cafes and restaurants—all make good meeting

places.

6. What about food?

You have to ask? Decide if you want to eat at home or out in restaurants? If at home, do you want full

meals, or something lighter—wine & cheese, or dessert & coffee?

Home meetings—in some clubs the hosts do all the cooking—that way members don't have

to prepare a dish every time a meeting rolls around. Other clubs like to share the cooking—

everyone brings a dish.

Book Club Recipes —LitLovers has nearly 300 recipes from around the world. A lot of clubs

find it fun to eat food to match the book: if you're reading one on India, take a look at our

Indian menus...or one from Italy...or the U.S. South.

Forget the Joneses—don't make serving food a competition. Who needs the pressure? So

establish a no-compete rule: chips & dip or artichoke-wasabi souffle, it's all good.

7. What should we call ourselves?

Give your club an identity — Brookville Book Babes, Reading's Red Hat Readers, New London Literary

Lions. Or simply the Lakewood Book Club — that works. (For ideas, take a look at some of the terrific

names of ourFeatured Cubs.)

8. How do we keep in touch?

Send out monthly meeting reminders via email, Twitter, or Facebook. A number of clubs set up their

own blog sites or use Facebook or Pinterest to connect members and highlight their book selections.

9. Keeping memories

Keep a club journal—a scrapbook or 3-ring binder—to keep track of the book selections, plot

summaries, discussion highlights, and members' opinions. It's especially helpful to bring new

members up to speed. Include photos of special events.

10. Giving to the community

Collect dues for a scholarship or an annual literacy award at a local school. Purchase books for your

local library, or become involved in a tutoring program. (Take a look at Book Lovers Group of

Gainesville for ideas on community involvement.)

(Book club tips by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online of off, with attribution. Thanks!)

How to Run a Book Club

 Basic Ground Rules

Members who haven’t read the book

Come anyway. Not everyone can finish every book, but non-readers may still have valuable insights.

Disagreements about the book

Be gracious! There is no one way to experience or interpret a book. In fact, differing opinions are

good.

Members who prefer to socialize

Be gentle but firm. Insist that discussion time be limited to the book. Some clubs hold book

discussions first and invite "social members" to join afterward.

Dominating personalities

Never easy. “Let’s hear from some others” is one approach. Some clubs pass an object around the

room; you talk only when you hold the object. If the person continues to dominate, a friendly

conversation (never e-mail) might work. If all fails, sometimes they've just got to go—for the good of

the club. (See our Blog Post—Book Club Blues.)

Meeting Format

Allow 2 to 2-1/2 hours per meeting—

30-45 min. — social time (eat, drink, be merry)

15-20 min. — administrative matters

60-90 min. — book discussion

Holding the Discussion(Also see How to Discuss a Book)

With a leader

Appoint a club member—perhaps the person who selects the book or hosts the meeting.

Some clubs have a member who enjoys leading all discussions.

Invite an outside facilitator (English teacher or librarian), paid or unpaid.

Without a leader

Take turns going around the room, allowing each member to talk about his or her experience

reading the book.

Hand out index cards. Ask everyone to write a question or observation; then select one or

more to discuss.

Discussion Tips —ideas for discussing any book

Reading Guides —specific discussion questions

Generic   Questions —for fiction and nonfiction

Read-Think-Talk —a guided-reading chart

Free LitCourses —short, fun, and guaranteed to make you smarter!